St. Francis hammers CV to what is becoming annual victory.

Photos by Leonard COUTIN The Golden Knights came onto the field last Friday night ranked 104th in the state and are currently ranked sixth in the Mission league. Last season, the Falcons lost in a gut wrenching 21-28 battle that left CV hungry for another chance. That chance turned out not be victorious for CV who lost to St. Francis 42-14.

By Eli LOCKE

Traditionally, the St. Francis Golden Knights, who are in the fourth division, are usually favored against CV’s seventh division Falcons. However the disparity doesn’t diminish the intensity of the contest.
This game, which was played last Friday, is always expected to be one of the toughest,
hardest fought and most exciting games on the schedule.
The Falcons have not beaten the Golden Knights in 10
years.
The Golden Knights came onto the field ranked 104th in the state and are currently ranked sixth in the Mission league. Last season, the Falcons lost in a gut wrenching 21-28 battle that left CV hungry for another chance.
The Falcons received the ball to start the game as Golden Knights kicker Ian Sternau sent the ball flying into the end zone for a touchback. Zac Wilkerson and the Falcons had a tough start, going three and out on their first drive. After the Falcons punted, the Golden Knights took over on the 50 yard line and quickly lost the football, which was recovered by CV’s Tyler Martinez at the line of scrimmage. The Falcons took over and attempted to make some progress. Unfortunately for The Falcons, the offense once again failed to move down field as the St. Francis defense held them to three and out. The Falcons defense started off the drive playing aggressively, with stops on first and second down. As the Falcons seemed to be on the verge of shutting the Golden knights down, quarterback Brett Nelson looked to be all but tackled. However as safety Alec Traber wrapped him up,
he threw for a first down. Nelson didn’t take long to liven up his offense, as he ran and threw down the field to bring the Knights up by seven.
As the Falcons offense came back onto the field, there were signs of trouble right off. CV’s offense was clearly out of rhythm, as it failed to gain a first down. The Falcons once again punted, and St. Francis received the ball with great field position. The Golden Knights faltered with a delay of game penalty forcing them into a third and long situation. Nelson’s arm once again guided the Knights out of dangerous territory, bringing them to first and goal, at which point he scrambled into the end zone for another St. Francis touchdown.
And this was the way it remained for the rest of the first half: the Falcons offense failed to mount a successful drive against the Golden Knights defense, and the Knights continued to find the end zone bringing the score at the end of the first 28-0.
Hope was raised when the Falcons first scored on a monstrous run by senior Kevin Fernandez, who avoided several tackles before flying down field into the end zone. The Falcons second – and final – touchdown took place late in the game, as Wilkerson took the ball down near the goal line and threw a bullet to senior Mark Sereno.
Despite these two late game touchdowns by the Falcons, the team couldn’t rally. The Golden Knights once again beat the Falcons with a final score of 42-14.